Took me a minute to find this video, then couldn’t resist rewatching the whole segment in full:

…The relevant line is at 5:55 of the video. At that point, Cena says “I’m not The Undertaker. I’m not a battered veteran with a bad hip.”

When he called out The Undertaker on this week’s episode of RAW, Cena spoke highly of The Deadman. Clearly he should’ve watched the above video. LOL. Like with the buildup to ‘Taker vs. Bray Wyatt three years ago, ‘Taker doesn’t need to show up in person. Cena has the best mic skills in the company and has since he walked in 15 years ago. He can build the match by himself. That said, I do see ‘Taker appearing to accept the challenge in the next three weeks.

All that said, let’s return to the entirety of the above video. Obviously, Cena destroyed Reigns on the mic. He took him to school and it was obvious especially from the 7:15 mark to about 8:00. Cena literally teaches Reigns during their promo how you cut a good promo (‘cuz John Cena is just that damn good). Cena prettymuch taught him to stop holding back when he does promos and as the new top guy, he has the leeway to go off script. Reigns clearly got it a few minutes later as he becomes more comfortable doing the promo.

Now check out the part this video is cued to:

…SAVAGE.

Cena makes reference Reigns’ recent suspensions at the time from failed drug tests. In one case, Reigns was absent for the buildup for the Triple Threat Match at the 2016 Battleground involving him, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. Ambrose was booked to retain the title and the match was built without Reigns so Ambrose and Rollins built the match on their own.

Both last week and this week, Reigns was half-cocked and cut some good promos. He wasn’t chewed out last week like he said he would be (it was planned) and this week’s segment involving Vince seemed to indicate there will be sine changes in how Lesnar is used after he presumably drops the title at Wrestlemania. Lesnar got away with holding the top title hostage 3 years ago because there wasn’t a brand split first and at the time, Vince was trying to get Lesnar to commit to WWE longterm.

…Truth be told, It’s been some time since we have seen a quality Hell in a Cell match. At least not since the match between The Undertaker and Edge at Summer Slam 2008. The HIAC matches we’ve seen since then were tame in comparison. Even the one between ‘Taker and Shane ‘O Mac at Wrestlemania 32 fell far below expectations despite Shane’s memorable dive off the top of the cell.

The match involving Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins did offer glimpses of what we may see at this Sunday’s outing: A return to the brutality the WWE Universe has come to expect from a match titled Hell in a Cell.

Let’s look at 8 of my personal favorite Hell in the Cell matches up to now:

8. Triple H vs. Cactus Jack

Ah, Mick Foley’s retirement match. It would be a travesty for this to not be mentioned. It was Championship vs. Career as Triple H battled Mick Foley in the match the latter made famous two years earlier. Just like back then, Foley was put through the cage. The difference was his time it was clearly pre-planned.

7. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair

Charlotte and Sasha made history last year as the first women to compete inside Hell in a Cell with the RAW Women’s Championship on the line. I commented on this last year but the beatdown Sasha took before the match officially started ruined it. You already knew at that point the outcome had been decided. Charlotte was a Heel but I agree with the critics she could have won without the pre-emptive attack.

The reason this made the list is simply because it opened the door to more HIAC matches involving the Women’s Division.

6. Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins

Dean Ambrose had me believing we may see a return to the brutality that has been absent from the now HIAC matches for almost 10 years now. This match took place a few months after The Shield broke up. Ambrose channeled his inner Mick Foley and put on a classic in this battle against The future King Slayer.

5. The Undertaker vs. Edge

Ah, the first of 4 matches on this list featuring The Undertaker ^_^

This was a grudge match made in hell between The Rated-R Superstar and The Phenom who made the match famous. The Undertaker gave Edge a personal lesson in pain after the match was over: After winning the match, he chokeslammed Edge off a ladder through the ring straight into hell.

4. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels

…I only just watched this match for the first time on WWE Network today. Afrer seeing how brutal it was, I had to put it on this list. Holy hell. This would be higher up if not for the participants involved in the Top 3.

The match lasted almost an hour.

You would have thought both men were trying to outdo their previous HIAC matches with the brutality they inflicted on each other. By the time it was over, both men were laying unconscious in the middle of the ring.

This was a star-studded HIAC at Armageddon 2000 for the WWE Championship. The match involved all of the company’s top talent. As you can probably imagine, there was a number of memorable moments from Triple H being Suplexed onto the hood of a car to The Rock overselling The Stunner in the middle of the ring.

The above picture stands as one of the top moments in HIAC history: Hall of Famer Rikishi being pushed off the top of the cell by The Undertaker into the back of a flatbed truck filled with wood chips. ‘Taker DID warn Rikishi if he wasn’t careful, he’d make him famous.

Kurt Angle retained the title by taking advantage of some confusion in the ring.

2. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker

Ah, the very first Hell in a Cell match.

Tomorrow makes it 20 years to the day The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels stepped foot inside what would come to be known as The Devil’s Playground for the first time. The only thing more shocking than the horrors The Deadman inflicted on HBK was the Kane’s shocking first appearance in WWE.

‘Taker literally did everything he could think of to HBK from throwing him around like a rag doll to using him as a human battering ram against the side of the cell. He even made him fall off the side of the cell and crash into the announcer’s table. Despite the brutality, it’s agree the abuse he took in his HIAC match with Triple H 7 years later was far worse: At least HBK was able to leave the ring.

Even so, there is a reason this is #2…

1. Mankind vs. The Undertaker

…There will never be a match like this again. EVER.

There is Hell in a Cell and then there is The 1998 Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Mankind at King of the Ring. Do yourself a favor: Watch the full match on WWE Network if you’ve never seen it.

Let me give you a bit of background info on this legendary match: Prior to the start of the match, ‘Taker had concerns about competing with a nagging foot injury. The match starting on top of the cage was Mick Foley’s idea. Little did they know when they were both up there, this match would cement their place in Wrestling History.

When Foley is thrown into the announcer’s table, he breaks his left arm and fractures bones in his spine. ‘Taker would later say he was legit concerned since they both knew Foley would have to carry the match since he was competing with an injury. Despite that, Foley would refuse medical treatment and continue the match. Unlike Foley’s match with Triple H, the fall through the cell was not planned. Foley blacked out for 2 minutes from the impact of hitting the ring. It’s said later Foley suffered a ruptured spleen and a concussion from the second fall.

Since the second fall was a legit freak accident, ‘Taker’s shock seeing Foley hit the ring below was legit. With things now gone to hell–pun intended–you’d think things couldn’t get any more over the top. But it did: Foley introduced THUMBTACKS. Then he was dropped and chokeslammed on a bed of them. TWICE. You literally have to see it to believe it.

…Never before and never again.

The only thing even more crazy: Both of them ran interference with the match that followed involving Kane and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Unbelievable given Foley was legit hurt and hurt bad.

…I left this out until now but what made the top 2 matches so memorable was Jim Ross calling the matches.

A few matches worth getting an honorable mention:

Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker: Their first Hell in a Cell match in 2002 had originally been booked for ‘Taker to win but since ‘Taker had a broken wrist, he had to take it as a loss to put Lesnar Over.

Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker: Their second, more recent Hell in a Cell match in 2015 had all the makings of a classic. It packed the grudge factor like their first HIAC match only both men were healthy. The Beast took The Undertaker to Suplex City, ending the rivalry in convincing fashion.

Mankind vs. Kane: This 1998 match is underrated since it was the only HIAC Match that took place during RAW. It was also Kane’s first venture in HIAC in which he destroyed his then tag team partner Mankind.

Triple H vs. Kevin Nash: Holy hell, you’d have thought Triple H was legit trying to kill Kevin Nash. It took everyything The Game had to put his best friend down for good.

Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan: The only reason this gets an honorable mention is because of how it ended: After Daniel Bryan punts Triple H out of the ring, Special Guest Referee Shawn Michael drops D-Bry with Sweet Chin Music, allowing The Viper to win the match and the vacated WWE Championship.

I have my fingers crossed Shane vs. KO delivers on the brutality it’s being built to be. We will find out for sure this Sunday.

…The rumors turned out to be true: Wrestlemania 33 would be Mark Calloway aka The Undertaker’s last match of his career. The 52 year old Superstar was clearly given full control for what would be his final match on the stage that made him a legend. When it was announced Thursday that Jim Ross would be coming back to call one match, we knew it would likely be for one of three matches. It turned out it was ‘Taker vs. Reigns, which itself turned out to be the main event on the card (The other two possabilities being Lesnar vs. Goldberg and Orton vs. Wyatt). The clincher was when the match was made the main event over the 3 title matches before them in which a new Champion was crowned. (Lesnar, Orton and Naomi).

Anyone who’s followed The Undertaker’s career knows the laundry list of accomplishments credited to him name, most of which involve Wrestlemania. I won’t go over all of them but of course. ‘Taker holds two records that will probably never be approached: Most Wrestlemania matches (25) and longest Wrestlemania streak (21). His only losses were at WM30 vs. Brock Lesnar, who ended The Streak and this year at WM33 vs. Roman Reigns, who comes from a family of Wrestling Legends (Rikishi, The Rock and so on).

It would probably be accurate to say Vince McMahon allowed The Undertaker to choose his final opponent and where. He did pick Lesnar to be the one to end The Streak, after all. The Deadman had expressed a strong interest in working with Daniel Bryan a few years ago but due to a career-ending neck injury after Wrestlemania 31, D-Bry was off the table. Choosing The Big Dog was very symbolic.

As was the promo for their match, ‘Taker chose Roman Reigns to be the new cornerstone of Wrestlemania. While I don’t see Reigns donnning ‘Taker’s gear and coming out to his music, he will become the new standard of greatness at Wrestlemania.

Simply having competed against The Undertaker at Wrestlemania would raise his profile but actually winning the match? The Roman Empire will now rule Wrestlemania for years to come barring the unforseeable. While it’s doubtful Reigns will compete in 20 more Wrestlemania matches, he will have alot of big ones. Last year’s match vs. Triple Hfelt stale compared to his singles debut at Wrestlemania 31 vs. Brock Lesnar.

Speaking of: Alot of folks were apparently expecting Roman Reigns to Heel turn during this match just like last year vs. The Game. I don’t see him becoming another John Cena but I think he will Heel turn before the year is over.

The Undertaker had his last match but I doubt we’ve seen the last of him. I would not be surprised at all if he is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame next year. It would be fitting. The WWE allowed him to go out in style and to retire with dignity. Who can forget how The Deadman had to be carted out of the ring after Wrestlemania 28? That was perhaps when The Deadman truly realized he was running out of time.

There were rumors his match with Shane was supposed to be his final match but due to post-show rumors about him, it’s likely WWE Officials wanted things to be more definite this time. Man, what a send off. The picture above says it all. The Undertaker is now free to disappear into the sunset.

…I will talk about other Wrestlemania news and results in two separate posts throughout today and tomorrow by brand. Later today, I will do one for RAW. Tomorrow, I will do one for Smackdown.

According to a few sources within WWE, The Phenom vs. The Roman Empire at WM33 is “prettymuch set”. Vince McMahon has reportedly wanted to book them in a match for some time now. This seems to match rumors I heard last year ‘Taker was originally going to be Reigns’ opponent last year.

It ended up not happening as we know for two reasons:

The Reigns/Triple H feud was going unexectedly well even though everyone knew Trips was just putting Reigns over.

The creative team had to scramble to write Shane McMahon’s sudden return to WWE after a nearly 10 year hiatus. Since Vince was personally involved, they had no choice but to book Shane with The Undertaker. The buildup fell flat but the match itself was unexpectedly good.

…This will be a match for the ages. The foundation for their match at Wrestlemania was laid when Reigns eliminated The Undertaker at the Royal Rumble (See above picture). It’s just a matter of when in regards to when the buildup begins.

What would make this matchup real interesting: According to an interview by Roman Reigns himself, he might Heel turn real soon. That would make the buildup believable and his character has been teasing a Heel turn for some time now.

I think it’s a safe bet the match is a done deal. Even though it won’t be a title match, this time we can expect to see a full match between the two titans of destruction =O

…This was obviously being set up to happen but due to Seth Rollins re-injuring his surgically repaired knee (The same one that cost him 9 months from fall 2015 to Spring 2016), he may be out for up to 8 weeks (!) which means he’s definitely missing Wrestlemania. Ouch! He has not been medically cleared to compete in any live events since the injury on RAW.

WWE has promised to provide an update in the upcoming RAW episode. Should Rollins be shelved, WWE’s creative team apparently has a replacement match set to go…

…The match alot of insiders thought was actually going to happen at last year’s Summer Slam believe it or not. For those who don’t know, there is legit…”tension” is the word I’ll use between Triple H and Shane. Triple H and Stephanie feel threatened by Shane’s return to the company after being away for 7 years. While Shane was away,

Triple H and Stephanie worked their way up the corporate ladder both on and off-screen (By the way, Triple H is the Director of Talent Relations and the Principal Owner of NXT). Triple H’s brain child NXT moved WWE out of the PG Era and helped kick off the rebranding of the Women’s Division. The story goes, it was Stephanie who convinced Vince to trust Triple H and cut back on his on-screen appearances, allowing the company to move into The New Era.

Their concern–more specifically The Game’s–is the possability Vince might hand the company over to Shane. Shane wasn’t lying when he said he “never lost his place in line” this time last year on RAW. As far as I know, Shane does not hold any executive positions within the company aside from being the Smackdown GM since his return.

Should Rollins be shelved–and I don’t think WWE will rush him back for the match–then they will start building this instead.

…We could see what WWE had planned for Seth Rollins and Finn Balor last year: NXT’s best brawler vs. The Face of WWE. Could be crazy but it could also be real interesting. That said, as of right now we still don’t know which roster Samoa Joe will be on yet. I don’t think that’s been set in stone.

That said, I do think it could be an interesting match. They both have crazy stamina and both have impressive mat skills to boot =O

I only just heard about this possible matchup this morning: Bray Wyatt is apparently the favorite to win the WWE Championship at the Elimination Chamber PPV later this month. He would then go on to face Randy Orton at Wrestlemania for the title.

Orton has been part od the Wyatt Family for the last three months. The Apex Predator is one of a handful of superstars who can be Over with the crowd weather he’s a Face or a Heel. We probably won’t see the buildup until after the Elimination Chamber match though.

The Phenom returned for the first time since Wrestlemania and the first thing he did was get in the face of the man he faced in a Hell in a Cell Match in April. Shane McMahon, who dove off the top of the cell at the end of the match and came back like nothing happened the following night (LOL!). Speaking of, ‘Taker called the Smackdown Commissioner “The man who has no fear”, referring to their match at Wrestlemania.

Speaking to the WWE Universe, The Deadman said “Wrestlemania would no longer define who I am. I’m here for taking souls and digging holes”. Translation: The Undertaker is now a member of the Smackdown roster. He’s not going to be at Survivor Series but he has promised swift punishment should Team Smackdown’s Mens team lose. It’s worth noting he was looking at the WWE Championship when he gave his warning.

Noticably absent from the 900th Episode were The Rock and John Cena. The Rock sent out a message via Instagram congratulating the brand based on his catchphrase on its 900th Episode. Hopefully he’ll be able to make it in person to the 1000th episode, which will likely be sometime in 2019.

While there was no explaination for Cena’s absence, he is scheduled to make an appearance next week following Survivor Series. It’s like I said a few months ago: Cena was drafted to Smackdown to help boost ratings. While the brand has been doing fine without him, he should at least be visible. Cena hasn’t appeared since his Triple Threat Match with AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose at No Mercy.

Smackdown’s Survivor Series Mens team (with team mascot james Ellesworth) invaded RAW when it looked like Shane and D-Bry’s meeting with Steph and Foley was about to end very badly. When all hell broke loose, Team RAW managed to drive off Team Smackdown thanks in no small part to the Monster Heel Braun Strowman.

The following night, RAW Women’s Champion Charlotte showed up during Nikki Bella’s match with Carmella and grabbed a seat at ringside. Things went to hell fast when the team captains started going at it. When the action moved into the ring the rest of Team RAW–Sasha Banks, Baley, Nia Jaxx and Alicia Fox–stormed the ring and attacked Nikki and Carmella, who tried to aid her fellow Smackdown teammate desite being opponents moments earlier. Team Smackdown coach Natalya arrived with the rest of Team Smackdown–Naomi, Alexia Bliss and Smackdown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch–but it didn’t look like it would be enough to slow down Nia Jaxx. A missed tackle took her out of comission and evened the playing field for Team Smackdown, which managed to fend off the rest of Team RAW.

This is the first time we’ve seen cross-brand clashes since the buildup for Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton’s match at Summer Slam a few months ago. Of course, it makes sense given Survivor Series is a cross-brand Pay Per View. The next cross-brand Pay Per View will be the Royal Rumble in January.

Unsurprisingly, The Miz reclaimed the Intercontinental Championship. When Dolph Ziggler hold the title close before the match started, I knew he was booked to lose the title. The Miz will defend the IC title against RAW Superstar Sami Zayn at Survivor Series.

The Miz wasted no time rubbing his victory into D-Bry’s face on Talking Smack after Smackdown went off the air. The Smackdown GM reluctantly said he would be pulling for The Miz to successfully defend the IC Title at Smackdown: If the Miz loses the title, the IC title goes to RAW.

Personally, I think The Miz will retain. My reason for saying that is because of what D-Bry said after The Miz left the set. He said he’d been looking into trading The Miz to RAW for Sami Zayn or Caesaro. Of course, that was before he won back the IC title. There’s also the fact Stephanie McMahon said Sami Zayn will likely be off the roser if he fails to bring the IC title to RAW two weeks ago. So yeah, it makes more sense for Zayn to lose at Survivor Series, get released and sign with Smackdown. Dude kinda needs space to come into his own. He hasn’t really been used well on RAW.

…Plus RAW needs to make room for the eventual return of Finn Balor ala Seth Rollins.

The 2/22 RAW opened with the shocking return of Shaned McMahon, who left left the WWE in 2009 to start his own company outside wrestling. Even though they kept in character, Shane said what the interwebs have been saying for the last 10 years about the state of the company–the stuff WWE.com and many fansites don’t talk about.

The timing of his return was paramount: His sister Stephanie had just been given an award by their father in the middle of the ring when his music hit. The crowd chanting “Holy shit!” prefectly illustrates how unexpected–and unlikely–we would ever see Shane-O-Mack in a ring ever again.

It’s easy to forget about Shane McMahon’s impressive career as a WWE Superstar given all mentions of him were pulled off the company website after he left. There was no malicious intent behind that. He simply wanted the freedom to focus on doing his own thing for a while. Who can forget his incredible matches with Kurt Angle, Matt Hardy, Edge, Christian, The Rock, Mick Foley and other WWE Superstars? \

Shane held multiple titles during his incredible in-ring career, almost always with the help of his father. There were plans for a Shane McMahon DVD that was recently scrapped. As of tonight, we now know why said plans were cancelled: Shane’s gonna get in the ring for the first time in 8 years.

His opponent: The Undertaker

The match: Hell in a Cell

The place: Wrestlemania 32

If Shane wins, he becomes RAW’s GM. If ‘Taker wins, Vince McMahon gets the contents of Shane’s “Lockbox”. This was likely a mix of storyline and breaking kayfabe: Shane was given the freedom to do what he wanted outside the company. Based on some rumors I’ve been hearing about Shane McMahon positioning himself to buy TNA, Shane’s sudden return may be more significant than it looks on the surface. Shane and Vince don’t see eye to eye in regards to WWE.

The WWE vs. WCW and ECW storyline from 15 years ago…I mention that because I think this might be this “trump card” Vince mentioned at the end of their promo. Even though the audio was muted, there was no question Vince said TNA and on that note, Vince has a team dedicated to watching all TNA publications. Vince himself watched WCW Nitro during the Monday Night Wars.

Anywho, Shane’s sudden return is clearly a sign of things to come. We’ll find out come April 4 if Shane’s still got it. Don’t let his gray hair fool you: Shane’s been keeping physically active during his time away from the ring. Well enough to face The Undertaker in Hell in the Cell at Wrestlemania 32? We’ll see.

In one corner you have The Undertaker and Kane, the personification of destruction. In the other you have the Wyatt Family, which feeds on madness and chaos.

It’s the perfect storm =O

Kane and The Undertaker are on the card in Survivor Series against two members of The Wyatt Family of Bray Wyatt’s choosing. The feud, which actually started at Wrestlemania 32 when The Deadman and The Eater of Worlds face off was revived at Hell in a Cell last month: After The Undertaker’s match with Brock Lesnar, The Wyatt Family attacked The Deadman and carried him backstage. They did the same thing to Kane the following night on RAW as well.

Bray claimed to have successfully harvested the souls of The Brothers of Destruction but when the brothers returned last week to settle the score, it was cleaar they had one thing on their minds: Vengeance. Things got interesting last week when Bray asserted his power was now greater than The Deadman’s: Flanked by his Druids, Bray made the lights turn off and when they came back on, the Druids were all wearing white sheep masks and tried to attack The Brothers of Destruction. Of course, they were quickly dispatched. The Undertaker then said “You can’t kill what refuses to die.”

On Smackdown The Druids–now loyal to The Wyatt Family and wearing sheep masks–flanked the entrance ramp to the ring. The Brothers of Destruction appeared via Titantron and said that at Survivor Series, they would reclaim what was theirs. When the lights turned back on, all of the Driuds were laid out outside the ring, having been slain by Kane’s Hellfire.

…This is a passing of the torch to say the least as the aging Brothers of Destruction have apparently chosen their successors. The Wyatt Family stand poised to dominate the WWE landscape for years like The Undertaker and Kane have. There’s no greater honor than to chosen by two of the most decorated Superstars in WWE History.